Thin-skinned chile pepper variety

ABSTRACT

An improved Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar having a fruit characterized by a relatively thin skin in comparison to other Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivars, such that mechanized peeling of fruit results in an average recovery, excluding skin, seed, and placenta, that is at least 5% higher in comparison to the peeling of an existing Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar. The improved cultivar further is characterized by a mature seed content of less than 20 pounds per 1000 pounds of fruit and by fruit that is readily de-stemmed by mechanized de-stemming.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a novel variety of Anaheim-type chile pepperthat results in a fruit that is thin-skinned in terms of being readilypeeled and lower in mature seed content compared to other Anaheim-typevarieties in pepper cultivars of the genus Capsicum.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Within the genus Capsicum, the species Capsicum annuum L. cultivarspossess a range of pod shapes and colors complemented by varying degreesseed content, skin thickness, and flavor intensity. Each cultivar has a“heat” or pungency that ranges from mild to hot. The pungent activeingredient found in peppers is the aromatic phenol capsaicin, which isproduced by oil secreting glands located along the placenta. Thus,pepper varieties having smaller placenta content typically are milder inflavor.

The commercial value of chile peppers lies in the recovery of the flesh(which excludes seeds, skin, and placenta) and is the raw material forseveral chile-pepper consumer products, and in the seeds, which are soldto agricultural producers of the fruit. Thus, the commercial processingof chile peppers necessarily involves the separation of flesh and seedsfrom the rest of the fruit (skin and placenta) and from other materials(such as the stem and calyx) that may be collected during harvesting ofthe pepper.

Attempts have been made to harvest peppers by machine and then toseparate the flesh and seeds from the rest of the fruit using flotationand/or pneumatic equipment, but these experiments have not beenconsistently successful. Moreover, commercial peeling operations oftenrely on roasting and/or steam to separate the skin from the cell wall ofthe fruit. Due to the thickness of the skin, processing of typicalAnaheim-type chile cultivars results in a flesh recovery of about 70% byweight of each pepper fruit. Moreover, the processing of Anaheim-typechile peppers (and other varieties) often is time, labor, and/orresource intensive due to the amount of energy used to roast or steampeel.

Thus, it would be desirable for a solution to the problem associatedwith the high cost of processing chile peppers due to excessive skinthickness and to improve the flesh recovery percentage associated withprocessing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to Capsicum annuum seeds and plants orvarieties (“cultivars”) that produce fruit (i.e., peppers) that ischaracterized by a skin that is thinner in comparison to existingAnaheim-type chile pepper cultivars.

More specifically, the invention relates to an Anaheim-type chilecultivar in which the skin weighs at least 10% less than that of anexisting Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar and has an average skinthickness that is at least 10% thinner than an existing Anaheim-typechile pepper cultivar, with the improved variety skin averaging between2-3 micrometers in thickness compared to 8 microns or more forcomparison Anaheim varieties. The thinness of the improved varietiesskin has been found to result in an average recovery, excluding skin,seed, and placenta, that is at least 5% higher in comparison to standardmechanized peeling of an existing Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar.

The invention further relates to an Anaheim-type chile cultivarcharacterized in that mechanized de-stemming results in stem and calyxremoval a high percentage of the time, typically at least 98 of 100fruit.

The invention also relates to an Anaheim-type chile cultivar havingfruit that is characterized by a mature seed content of at least 10%less than that of an existing Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar.Preferably, the mature seed content is less than 20 pounds per 1000pounds of fruit.

Moreover, the invention relates to an Anaheim-type chile cultivar havingfruit that weighs on average at least 60 grams and has a wall thicknessof at least 0.10 inches.

Various other purposes and advantages of the invention will become clearfrom its description in the specification that follows. Therefore, tothe accomplishment of the objectives described above, this inventionincludes the features hereinafter fully described in the detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments, and particularly pointed outin the claims. However, such description discloses only some of thevarious ways in which the invention may be practiced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a comparison of the skin thickness between an existingAnaheim-type chile variety and a cultivar of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Pedigree Synopsis for Anaheim-Type Chile Pepper Cultivar Villa 96

The basic parents of the Villa 96 cultivar are the San Martin Ancho F2Line and Breeding Line 17 (an Anaheim-type long green chile pepper). Theabove Lines were crossed using standard Mendalian genetics and eightgenerations were grown under typical chile growing conditions in Pearce,Ariz. Field selections were performed based on thick wall (making thefruit heavier, with an average weight of at least 60 grams), andAnaheim-type characteristics, such as fruit with 2.5 inch width and 6-8inch length, a tapered end, easy de-stem ability, rounded shoulders,smooth fruit and mild heat (typically about 50 Scoville units), heavyfruiting plant habit, and observations of bacteria spot (Xanthomonas,common leaf spot) tolerance. It was discovered that the skin of improvedcultivar was more readily peeled than other Anaheim-type varieties.

Subsequent testing confirmed a thin-skin phenotype as shown in theelectron micrograph images in FIG. 1. The top panel shows the skinthickness of an Anaheim-type chile comparison variety, while the lowerpanel shows the skin thickness of the improved cultivar of theinvention. As described in the FIGURE and in Table 1 below, the averagethickness of skin for the improved cultivar was 2.85 micrometers, with7/8 samples measuring between 2 and 3 micrometers. In comparison, theother Anaheim-type cultivar had a skin thickness that averages 9.69micrometers. Thus, the skin of the improved cultivar has an averagethickness that is at least 10% thinner than existing Anaheim-type chilepepper cultivars and preferably is at least 20% thinner.

TABLE 1 Thin skin peppers Reference peppers 2.119 9.229 2.614 9.6962.424 9.165 7.304 10.68 2.068 10.24 2.052 10.15 1.996 9.04 2.223 9.3292.85 9.691125 Average thickness in um.

Improved cultivars of the invention have been tested for ease of peelingunder standard conditions for such processing by chile canners and otherfood companies. The results from tests done by a processing facility inNew Mexico indicate that the peppers of the Villa 96 variety were peeledon average 95% of the time as compared to 52% (average) of the time fora very commonly used Anaheim-type long green cultivars used undersimilar circumstances and undergoing the evaluation for peeleffectiveness at the same point in the process.

Indeed, such peel evaluations have been performed on several long greenpeppers that are processed by the New Mexico facility mentioned above.Strict methods were used to define a “peeled pepper” and applied to allof the peppers that were evaluated. In each case, the data indicatedthat the effectiveness of peel removal for the Villa 96 cultivar was onaverage 95% as compared to 52% for the commonly processed long greencultivars.

Testing by another company has revealed that the fruit of the improvedcultivar has an average wall thickness of at least 0.10 inches.Moreover, ten mechanized peeling trials of fruit of the improvedcultivar resulted in an average recovery of flesh, i.e., excluding skin,seed, and placenta, that is at least 5% higher in comparison to thepeeling of an existing Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar, New Mexico6-4.

The ten trials described above also revealed that the skin of theimproved cultivar weights at least 10% less than that of the existingAnaheim-type chile pepper cultivar New Mexico 6-4 (an average of 4.6% ofthe improved cultivar's weight was peel (i.e., skin) compared with anaverage of 7.75% peel by weight of New Mexico 6-4).

Thus, an Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar of the invention has a fruitthat is characterized by a skin that is thinner in comparison toexisting Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivars.

The Anaheim-type chile pepper cultivar of the invention has been foundto have a fruit characterized by a mature seed content of at least 10%less by weight than that of all existing Anaheim-type chile peppercultivars with which it has been compared. For example, the improvedcultivar has been found to contain a mature seed content that is lessthan 20 pounds per 1000 pounds of fruit. Other Anaheim-type cultivarstypically contain approximately at least 25 pounds of mature seed per1000 pounds of fruit.

Moreover, the improved cultivar is further characterized by easyde-stemming, in that mechanized de-stemming results in stem and calyxremoval in at least 98 of 100 of fruit.

Deposit Information

Two thousand five hundred (2500) seeds of Anaheim-type Villa 96 Chilecultivar that produces thin-skinned fruit have been placed on depositwith the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 UniversityBlvd., Manassas, Va., 20110-2209 under Patent Deposit Designation NumberPTA-9751 on Feb. 2, 2009. This deposit was made in compliance with theBudapest Treaty requirements that the duration of the deposit should befor thirty (30) years from the date of deposit or for five (5) yearsafter the last request for the deposit at the depository or for theenforceable life of a U.S. Patent that matures from this application,whichever is longer. These Capsicum annuum seeds will be replenishedshould it become non-viable at the depository.

Plants and fruit resulting from the deposited seed have been grown inSouthern Arizona and found to exhibit the thin-skin phenotype and othercharacteristics described herein.

The Anaheim-type chile cultivars of the present invention aregenetically stable. Nonetheless, the characteristics described hereinmay be adversely affected by environmental factors (such as hightemperatures, low soil fertility, or water stress) and may vary in fruitfrom plant to plant, while still maintaining a thin-skinned phenotypethat is easier to peel in comparison to all other Anaheim-type chilevarieties.

Various changes in the details and components that have been describedmay be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and scopeof the invention herein described in the specification and defined inthe appended claims. Therefore, while the present invention has beenshown and described herein in what is believed to be the most practicaland preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures can be madetherefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limitedto the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope ofthe claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent processes andproducts.

1. An Anaheim-type chile pepper seed from a cultivar of the Villa 96line, representative seed of said line having been deposited under ATCCPatent Deposit Designation No. PTA-9751.
 2. A plant produced from theseed of claim
 1. 3. A fruit resulting from a plant produced from theseed of claim 1.